Draft Digest: Ixnay On The Ixalan-Ay

Previews for Ixalan have finally started. A whole new format is always exciting, as we've been playing in the world of Amonkhet for quite some time. This new format has a tribal focus, but for now I want to go over the mechanics showcased by a new common in the set. For the next couple weeks it's all about card evaluation!

Raid

We saw this mechanic back in Khans of Tarkir, and it plays very well in Limited. Most decks are chock-full of creatures, so the bonus rarely requires extra work!

This card is interesting, as three mana for a 2/2 is just such a terrible rate nowadays. Tack on the ability to make your opponent discard a card, and now it's a card I would include in most of my Limited decks. I doubt this card will end up being in black's top couple commons, but it seems like it will be solid filler. When you're getting the ability for free because you have good attacks, it'll be slightly an above-average card. But it isn't always trivial to enable Raid.

The main thing that you should remember regarding Raid is to be on the lookout for chump-attacks. It's possible that your opponent is bluffing a combat trick solely to enable Raid.

Enrage is a new mechanic that triggers whenever a creature with Enrage is dealt damage. You should note that this is not only combat damage, so removal spells that deal damage can have additional modes when pointed at your own creatures, and potential downside if your opponent has a creature with Enrage.

Incidental damage can go a long way in Limited. Now, six mana is way more than you should be paying for a vanilla 5/4, so I don't expect this card to be great. One of the downsides on the vanilla beater is that it can be chump-blocked. At least here, your opponent can only throw creatures in the way for a limited time, and I expect that to be a similar case for other Enrage creatures.

Overall, Sun-Crowned Hunters is just too inefficient of a body for the cost. While it can give you a non-negligeable bonus on blocks and is a reasonable attacker, it just isn't good enough to justify taking with any priority. Maybe it'll make the deck some portion of the time, but I would want to take this card after it wheels.

Treasures

Treasures are effectively just token copies of Lotus Petal. There are plenty of cards in Ixalan that will produce these, and they may have a large effect on the format. With enough treasure-making cards, splashing becomes trivial and playing more expensive cards becomes substantially easier.

This card is going to be very deck-dependent. In general, five-drops are replaceable and can never be that good unless they do something insane (Glorybringer).

So I definitely don't expect this to be one of blue's top commons. But at the same time, the card may function similarly to Oasis Ritualist, which ended up getting similar initial evaluations and was a top green common in Hour of Devastation.

These cards are entirely different and in different formats, but it's good to be aware that if the best deck is some five-color shenanigans, and that the 3/4 body is better than usual, this card may overperform substantially.

Explore is a modal-like mechanic. When a creature explores, you reveal the top card of your library. If that card is a land, put it into your hand; otherwise the creature gets a +1/+1 counter and you can choose to keep that card on top of your library or put it into your graveyard. This mechanic has a lot going on, so let's just take a look at how it looks on a card.

Depending on how explore cards are costed, this could be the most powerful mechanic of the set. Tishana's Wayfinder is one of two cards. Either three mana for a 2/2 that draws a card, or three mana for a 3/3 that lets you scry 1. It's slightly different as the card you draw must be a land and the card you scry must be a spell, but it's a close enough comparison.

Both options are cards that would make the cut in my average Limited decks, and the 3/3 that comes with a scry would be one of the better green commons if it was that every time. I expect this card to be quite good, something I'm looking to take around pick four or five to solidify myself in green.

About Ryan Saxe

Ryan has been playing Magic for over ten years and is an avid limited player in New York City's competitive scene. Known for his analytical approach to the game, Ryan prides himself in his efficacy for problem solving. Every set bears an onslaught of new puzzles, and taking these head on is what he does best.